Are you at the point of wondering what career you would be happy with that would also give you the means to support yourself, and perhaps a family, for the near future as well as the rest of your life? If so, don’t feel so alone. That happens to most people just starting out. Many are unsure of what it is they would like to do and are struggling with the very same issue. Perhaps a few tips would help you find a career and discover that missing link between what you would like to do and what is reasonable to consider as a career.
What Is Your Passion?
Believe it or not, even the silliest of things you love to do can become a lifelong career! For example, maybe you are an avid gamer and could spend literally all day and all night on that gaming system playing warcraft games with friends. Some of those friends you grew up with and some you’ve met online. Even so, you are passionate about your multiplayer games like WoW style games and now you chuckle thinking that it would be a riot if you could make living playing games. Well, actually, you just might be able to! Perhaps you could become a game developer. It might take a couple of years and a minimum of an associate degree, but you really could feed your passion and make a living doing it.
Consult with a Career Coach
One thing you might be able to do is consulting with a career coach who is well-trained in helping people just like you discover what it is they’d like to do as a career. You can often find them at a job placement site because job seekers are also those who are going from job to job because nothing seems to satisfy them. Nothing seems to be a good fit. This job placement resource connects job seekers with career coaches. The professionals on placement.com are able to help you look deeply at your life to see what it is that is missing. They will help you answer questions about things like how you might be able to turn your passion into a career. They can help you determine the kind of income you would like to make in order to find a career path in keeping with that.
Begin Broad and Narrow Down
Let’s continue on with that idea about becoming a game developer as an example of what you might be able to pursue as a career. Bear in mind that the difference between a job and a career is mainly longevity. A career is something you can see yourself doing for the rest of your working life until retirement whereas a job is usually that which gives you money to survive. A job is something you will do to make ends meet but it’s not something you can get passionate about.
So, gaming is your passion and that should be your broad perspective when narrowing down choices in potential careers. Before you get to the point where you discover that you love technology as much as you love gaming, you run the gambit of jobs like working in a game shop or selling gaming systems online. That placement coach can help you narrow down your possibilities until you discover that there really is something more than just a job out there. There is a career that meets both your passions: technology and gaming.
Begin Setting Goals
Once you have reached the point where you have found what it is you are passionate about that can also solve your dilemma on what to pursue as a career, you can begin setting goals. Once again, looking at that career as a game developer you begin looking at what it takes to get there. You know that you don’t have the knowledge to begin developing games or apps, so you start with how to get that knowledge. What schools can teach you what you need to know and also offer a certificate or degree program to give you the credentials you need to land the perfect placement?
You may also want to pursue a career beginning as an entrepreneur who is happy to build and release their own games. Now you would need to add a goal of securing funding or financing to give you that kickstart you would need to start your own company. The point being made is that you need a destination before you can plot a course. If you aren’t sure what that route might entail and the stops along the way, a placement coach could help you with that as well. Take the time to think about alternatives as well. Who knows, you might just love one of those ‘stops’ along the way but at least you would know which direction you would be going in.
